- Pilot Talk
Sponsored by Avemco Insurance
Participation in any of these events qualifies for the Avemco Safety Rewards Program.
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Upcoming Live Events
"Combating Cognitive Decline in the Pilot" is being offered as a limited attendance event on Thursday, September 12, 2024 at 8:00 PM Eastern time.
This virtual seminar discusses the main cognitive skills used by pilots, why each skill is important for safe flying, and strategies to slow the normal decline in these skills associated with aging. Virtual attendance at each seminar is limited to facilitate questions and discussion. The host for the seminar will be Gene Benson, noted human factors specialist and experienced flight instructor.The duration of the seminar will be approximately one hour,including discussion and questions. To earn FAA Wings credit, a short online quiz must be completed following the event. Registration is on a first come basis. Click here to register.
On-Demand Recorded Pilot Talk Events
Recordings of some previous events are posted on YouTube.
Links are posted below the event descriptions.
Getting Together Uneventfully
After a couple of years of cautious human interaction, we are beginning to again get out into the world. Aviation events as well as family and school reunions, sporting events, weddings, and even delayed funerals are calling us to attend. Many of us will be using general aviation to travel to these events. Our goal is to travel to and from the event without creating an event of our own along the way.
This video presents some simple ways that pilots can be safer and be better prepared to successfully prepare for and execute the cross-country flight whether it be two-hundred miles, two-thousand miles, or more.
Event has passed. Click here to view the recording on YouTube
Associated Online Course
This presentation is also available as a free, online course valid for Wings credit. Please note that the online course includes more supporting material than the webinar presentations. The estimated time to complete the course is one hour 20 minutes. Due to the additional material, the course is valid for 1.5 Basic Knowledge-3 Wings credit. Click here to enroll in the course.
Many Happy Returns - Avoiding Runway Excursions and Overruns
This is a recording of a webinar presented as part of the Avemco Pilot Talk webinar series. We want our return to the airport to be as happy as our departure. But far too many landings end up off the runway. Sometimes these excursions happen when an airplane departs the side of a runway and some happen when the airplane runs off the end. Serious injury or death from runway excursions is not common but does occur. Minor injuries and costly damage to the airplane and sometimes to airport facilities is however a frequent result of runway excursions.
This webinar examined the common causes of runway excursions and offered some ways to help avoid them.
Note: viewing this video does not qualify for FAA Wings credit but does qualify for the Avemco Safety Rewards Program.
Event has passed. Click here to view the recording on YouTube
A free online course valid for Wings credit is also available. Click here to enroll.
Birds, Bullets, and Bears
This is a recording of a webinar presented as part of the Avemco Pilot Talk webinar series. The host is Gene Benson. Presenter Kim Skipper, Avemco Insurance Underwriting Manager, opens the company files to show photos and describe some of the more unusual claims they have processed. Note: viewing this video does not qualify for FAA Wings credit but does qualify for the Avemco Safety Rewards Program.
The information presented is from Avemco’s claim experience and does not necessarily match what viewers might see on NTSB or FAA reports.
Event has passed. Click here to view the recording on YouTube
Avoiding Holiday Travel Hazards
This webinar examines some of the factors that can increase the risks of holiday travel in general aviation airplanes. Strategies to help mitigate those risks are presented. Several recent accidents are analyzed and discussed. The presenter is long-time flight instructor and FAASTeam Lead Representative Gene Benson.
Event has passed. Click here to view recording on YouTube.
Autumn Scenery Safety
Autumn offers unique opportunities to view some spectacular autumn scenery or just some general sightseeing. We can be safer if we are aware of some additional hazards and take steps to mitigate the risks. This live webinar address some of those hazards and provides practical risk mitigation strategies. Long-time professional pilot and flight instructor Gene Benson is the presenter.
Event has passed. Click here to view recording on YouTube.
Aircraft Engine Longevity and Reliability
This event features guest presenter Shawn Benson, A&P, IA
Piston engine wear and reliability are well understood if you know what to look for. Engine wear, engine health, and reliability are interrelated. Aircraft engines wear with both use and inactivity. Inactivity actually accelerates wear due to corrosion. This presentation discusses methods to determine engine health and ways to prevent the effects of engine inactivity and corrosion.
Event has passed. Click here to view recording on YouTube.
Engine Health Monitoring - Fly with Confidence
This event features guest presenter Shawn Benson, A&P, IA
Does flying at night or over mountains give you a bad case of the heebie-jeebies? This presentation takes the mystery out of aircraft engine health by explaining the various methods available to determine precisely the state of your engine’s health at any point in its life cycle. Piston engine wear and reliability are well understood if you know what to look for long before hitting the start switch.
Event has passed. Click here to view recording on YouTube.
Avoiding the Midair Collision
Can you imagine seeing your windshield suddenly filled with the sight of another aircraft? Can you imagine feeling your airplane suddenly lurch and plummet uncontrollably toward the ground? Many pilots and passengers have experienced the horror of a midair collision. This webinar examines some midair collisions and explores some common methods to help mitigate the risk.
Event has passed. Click here to view recording on YouTube.
Temporary Flight Restrictions
Avoiding and Managing the Risks.
This presentation provides a behind-the-scenes perspective of when and how Temporary Flight Restrictions are designed and implemented by Airspace Coordinators for the numerous large wildfires that occur each year in the western US. The hazards to aviators flying near fire TFRs are discussed, and several helpful hints and tips for general aviation pilots are shared to assist pilots with making appropriate decisions that reduce the risks of flying near wildfires. The presenter, Kurt Kleiner, is an active CFI with over 4,000 hours logged, who recently retired from a 30 year career as an Aviation Manager with the Bureau of Land Management which included 5 years as a Aircraft Dispatcher, and two years as the National Airspace Program Manager for the BLM and US Forest Service.
Event has passed. Click here to view recording on YouTube.
Better Decision Making
Understanding the different kinds of decisions and how to become better at each one.
This video, a recording of a live webinar, discusses three kinds of decision making and how we can be better at all three. A featured guest tells a riveting story of an in-flight engine failure. We discuss the decisions he had to make with the information available at the time, from the first indication of trouble through the successful conclusion of the event.
Event has passed. Click here to view recording on YouTube.
Flight Operations in Mountain Wave
This presentation provides a detailed overview of a powerful meteorological phenomenon that presents potential hazards to aviators as well as opportunities to elevate one's airmanship skills. We describe three types of mountain wave, their structure, how to predict when and where wave conditions will occur, and the visual indicators that pilots can look for to know where it is safe to operate and identify areas to avoid. It will highlights the challenges and opportunities that mountain wave offers for sailplane pilots seeking high altitude records.
Featuring guest presenter Kurt Kleiner, CFI FAASTeam Rep, and mountain flying enthusiast.
Event has passed. Click here to view recording on YouTube.
Twelve Treacherous Tribulations
The most common human factors causes of errors
The application of human factors principles to aviation safety goes back more than thirty years in the airline industry. The application of these concepts has made airline travel the safest mode of transportation on Earth. We can be safer general aviation pilots by applying these fundamentals. This recorded webinar begins by briefly explaining the origin of human factors concepts in aviation safety. It then presents twelve top causal factors of GA accidents, how to recognize them and how to mitigate their effects. Each factor is illustrated by an actual general aviation accident that occurred.
Event has passed. Click here to view recording on YouTube.
Avoiding the CFIT Accident
"How not to hit stuff"
Did you ever wonder why conscientious, experienced pilots sometimes fly an airplane into terrain or obstacles? This webinar goes beyond the "Probable Cause" of these CFIT accidents and explores some of the human factors that sometimes cause pilots to make poor decisions. Mitigation strategies are presented and discussed.
Event has passed. Click here to view recording on YouTube.
Avoiding the Fuel Related Accident
Fuel Exhaustion, Fuel Management, Fuel Contamination
Did you ever wonder why conscientious, experienced pilots sometimes run out of fuel or experience a loss of engine power because of fuel contamination? This webinar goes beyond the "Probable Cause" of these fuel-related accidents and explores some of the human factors that sometimes cause pilots to make poor decisions. Mitigation strategies will be presented and discussed.
Event has passed. Click here to view recording on YouTube..
Things They Might Not Have Taught You in Flight School
Might be new or it might be review. Interesting either way.
This live webinar will examine some interesting and useful concepts of aerodynamics and aircraft performance that might not have been taught or might have been forgotten. We will discuss the practical aspects of the power curve, how propellers really work, the myths of lift and weight, the three turning tendencies, how to load the airplane for optimum performance, and other interesting concepts.
The Psychology of Approach and Landing
Skill is only part of the equation
Recent statistics show that 37% of all non-commercial fixed-wing general aviation pilot-related accidents were categorized as either descent/approach or landing. Pilots of all experience levels and certificate levels are involved in these accidents. This webinar goes beyond the usual discussion of approach and landing accidents and looks at three psychological principles that might become a factor.
This webinar is aimed at both instrument rated and non-instrument rated pilots.
Maintain Control
More tips on avoiding the LOC-I accident
According to the FAA, the number one cause of fatal general aviation accidents is loss of control inflight. This one hour webinar will examine several recent inflight loss of control accidents, each representing a different scenario. Each accident will be analyzed to determine possible root causes which will reveal some effective mitigation strategies.
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